Father knows best

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, August 18, 1999

PEBBLE BEACH - Johnny Miller was proud as a peacock on Tuesday, which perhaps makes it all the more fitting that he'll be back in the announcer's booth for NBC the rest of the week.

But for two days on his old haunts of Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach, he seemed just as comfortable with a rake in his hand instead of a microphone. Certainly, he was far more useful, at least where his 19-year-old son, Todd, is concerned.

Todd Miller advanced through the stroke-play portion of the U.S. Amateur into the 64-man match-play field with Dad on his bag and nary a touch of static on the screen. Their collaboration was so insightful, its result so delightful (Todd's 4-over 147 left him just four shots back of qualifying medalist Gene Elliott), it will be hard for son to send father back to work.

"I don't have any idea who's going to caddie from here on out," said Todd, after firing 4-over 75 at Pebble Beach on Tuesday. "Maybe my brother Andy. I might be nervous with him watching every shot, though. But like my dad, he wouldn't let me get away with any of the crazy ideas I might have out there."

Tuesday, those crazy ideas mostly consisted of hitting the driver off the tee. In most cases, the player-caddie consultation ended in, "Dad made me hit 4-wood."

Dad was not your typical caddie, having won a U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1973, and most recently adding the 1996 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am title to his resume. He talked Todd around the course much as he will for the viewers this weekend (Wednesday through Friday, ESPN will carry the feed, then it's NBC on Saturday and Sunday). Even playing partner Robert Oppenheimer fed on the commentary.

"I expected him to be following us, but I didn't expect him to caddie," said Oppenheimer, who made the final 64 as well at 148. "He kept most of the advice toward his son, but he brought a crowd, and that was a lot of fun for me."

The elder Miller found his guidance to be more useful for Todd than even he expected, due to the atypical difficulty of Pebble Beach for this championship. The USGA has narrowed the fairways and fed the rough - to an extreme, said the ever-opinionated father / announcer.

"On a ton of the fairways, you can't see where you need to land," said Miller, 52. "I've never seen them this narrow here, ever. I think it's a bit of an error. If the wind comes up, it would be too penal. It would get like Carnoustie was.

"If Seve (Ballesteros) played these two rounds, he would have shot 85-88. . . . You can't scramble on these courses."

Particularly on Pebble Beach, where the rough is longer and thicker than at the usually more difficult Spyglass Hill. A look at a player's scores generally reveals which course he played on which day. Justin Bolli, for instance, led the field with his 2-under 70 at Spyglass on Monday; on Tuesday, he shot 10-over 81 at Pebble. And Matt Kuchar, the popular 1997 champion, followed his 73 of Monday with an 81 at Pebble on Tuesday, missing the cut.

Nobody broke 70 at either course; nobody broke par at Pebble Beach. And the grass has been doing nothing but growing.

"I played here three years ago and honestly, I thought it was pretty easy," said Elliott, a 37-year-old former pro. "But today, it's one of the toughest I've ever played."

"It's not a kid's course, that's for sure," said Todd Miller. "You've got to play smart out there."

He had plenty of help in that department on Monday and Tuesday, but now, who knows? Brother Andy has been caddying for buddy Billy Harvey, who was part of a 17-way playoff for the final seven spots that couldn't be completed before darkness fell on Tuesday, so he's already got a bag on Wednesday morning.

Last year it was Andy, 21, who advanced to match play and forced Dad to test his objectivity on the air.

"That wasn't easy," Johnny said. "Especially when he started doing some things that I would have had him do differently."

If it happens again this week, he'll no doubt be wishing he could trade the mike for the rake.&lt;